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SALSA (Safe And Local Supplier Approval) |
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The food industry has launched a new food
safety scheme which will make it more affordable and less onerous for small food
producers and manufacturers to directly supply local retailers and get their
products into local public institutions like schools, hospitals and prisons.
The Safe and Local Supplier Approval (SALSA) scheme removes many of the
practical barriers preventing small producers from directly supplying local
retailers and caterers.
Jeff Rooker, Minister for Sustainable Farming and Food, will officially launch
the scheme at the International Food Exhibition at ExCeL, Docklands, on Monday.
SALSA is a low cost, but highly rigorous, scheme which works with local
producers to ensure they have robust food safety procedures in place. Membership
of the SALSA scheme allows producers and processors to demonstrate their ability
to meet the necessary legislative requirements.
Previously, as there was no UK-wide scheme, these requirements were met and
judged on a case by case basis, involving a time consuming and costly
interaction between suppliers and their customers (retailers, caterers, public
services etc). Under the SALSA scheme producers and processors will be able to
gain and display their credentials to all potential buyers, which will open up
new opportunities for suppliers and a greater range of choice for consumers.
Commenting on the scheme Jeff Rooker, Minister for Sustainable Farming and Food,
said: "SALSA is about helping small and local food and drink producers to
demonstrate, at a reasonable cost, that they meet the standards expected by
national buyers. It has the potential to open new opportunities to supply
retailers and caterers both locally and nationally. Retailers and caterers
will also benefit by increasing their range of locally produced food, safe in
the knowledge that it meets the necessary legislative requirements."
BRC Director General Kevin Hawkins said: "SALSA is about making it easier for
stores to supply local people with goods produced by local suppliers.
"Local sourcing is booming and retailers are very keen to work with suppliers to
bring a greater range of local goods to customers. A number of retailers have
already established strong one-to-one relationships between individual stores
and local suppliers but it is an area many are looking to develop further. SALSA
will make that easier. It will give consumers the widest possible choice when
they shop, along with the reassurance that the product they are buying has been
handled correctly.
Retailers are sometimes unfairly criticised for allegedly failing to support
local producers. This is nonsense. Retailers are overwhelmingly British farmers'
and processors' biggest customers and they want to expand the market for
competitive locally-sourced products. By reducing the costs associated with
achieving food safety recognition, SALSA will allow retailers to source food
directly from small suppliers. Consumers, local producers and retailers will all
benefit."
Melanie Leech, Director General of the Food and Drink Federation said: "SALSA is
a valuable contribution to ensuring the safety of the whole supply chain. Not
only is the Scheme of value to small manufacturers in demonstrating their
fitness to supply larger businesses, but it is also relevant to the many small
companies supplying ingredients to the food and drink manufacturing industry.
Manufacturers have a range of approaches to ensuring the safety and quality of
their ingredients. SALSA will provide a means of rationalising this activity as
well as enabling many smaller ingredients manufacturers to demonstrate their
ability to supply."
Bob Cotton, Chief Executive of the British Hospitality Association said: "The
BHA welcomes the SALSA standard for small suppliers as it will greatly assist
small businesses in their development. Furthermore, it will enable foodservice
operators to access local suppliers where there is an opportunity to provide
their clients and customers with these products."
NFU deputy president Meurig Raymond said: "We are delighted to have played a
significant role in getting this joint initiative off the ground. This
affordable scheme is the first of its kind and fills a gap in the market for
producers to supply direct to local retailers. At the same time it gives
customers confidence that they are buying local, fresh, healthy produce."
SALSA was developed jointly by the BRC, National Farmers' Union (NFU), Food and
Drink Federation (FDF) and the British Hospitality Association (BHA), the SALSA
scheme is funded by Defra and Scottish Enterprise and enjoys the support of the
Food Standards Agency (FSA).
Because SALSA is designed specifically for small producers and manufacturers who
wish to supply at a local level, the cost of gaining approval is much lower than
for other approval schemes (like the BRC Global Standard) which are designed for
larger operations. It will be administered by the Institute of Food Science and
Technology (IFST), which has set up a website to provide central guidance on the
requirements of the SALSA scheme and will oversee the auditing and approval
process. Producers and small manufacturers wishing to gain approval will
register with SALSA for £50, with the first compliance audit carried out for
£400. Once the audit has been successfully passed the processor will be SALSA
certified. Audits will be carried out on a regular basis.
Information taken from a British Retail Consortium Press Release
Links
SALSA Audit Standard and User Guide
SALSA Directory of Approved Suppliers (so far only Scottish companies have been approved - they were in the pilot programme)
British Hospitality Association